1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cable cleaning units, and more particularly is related to line wipers utilized in wire line operations at oil and gas well drilling sites.
2. General Background
In connection with oil and gas well drilling various operations such as depth determinations, crooked hole tests, temperature and pressure surveys, parafin cutting, and setting, retrieving and manipulating devices in the wellbore require the use of solid wirelines. When retrieving the wireline from a well, the well fluid or lubricating fluid clinging to the line may drip or be thrown off of blocks and pulleys and creates a safety, maintenance and housekeeping problem around the wellhead site. In the past line wipers and cable cleaning units of various types have been used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,427, issued to Crump, discloses a cable cleaning unit comprising two semi-cylindrical housing parts which are hinged together to form the unit. The unit has an annular nozzle chamber for surrounding a section of cable to be cleaned, with a plurality of nozzles within the chamber for directing jets of high pressure oil onto the surface of the cable at an acute angle and a spin-off chamber for receiving the oil and impurities from the cable. The spin-off chamber has a plurality of vanes for directing the oil and impurities to an outlet from the unit. A traction unit comprising a pair of pulley wheels is also provided to drive the traction unit along the cable.
U.S. Pat. No. Re 29,493, issued to Crump, discloses a cable cleaning unit having an annular chamber adapted to surround a section of cable to be cleaned, with a plurality of outlets located within the chamber. Jets of high presure fluid are directed through the outlets onto the surface of the cable. A mechanism for withdrawing the fluid from the chamber is also provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,866, issued to Blanton, discloses a rectangular shaped frame having a lubricator canister removably coupled thereto at one end. At the opposite end of the rectangular shaped frame, is an upper slide assembly which rotably supports a die. The wire cable passes through the lubricator canister which applies lubricant cleaner to the die. The die has a plurality of internal spiral grooves adapted to fit the spiral strands of the wire cable, thus cleaning the wire cable and removing the excess lubricant applied thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,029,062, issued to Dippman, discloses a housing containing liquid which travels with the lubricator and recirculates the excess lubrication for reuse.
Although the above art addresses the problem of cleaning cables, it does not address the problem of removing and containing excess fluid from a wireline at the point of entry into or exit from a stuffing box and also preventing the fountain effect which takes place when the packing in a stuffing box becomes worn from the wireline operation and the wellhead pressure.